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A federal judge has ordered the Department of Justice to release all documents relating to the Fast and Furious gun running scandal by October 1st, 2014.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., issued the following statement on United States District Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s order today that the Department of Justice must turn over a privilege log of withheld Operation Fast and Furious Documents by October 1.

“Today a Federal judge ordered that the Department of Justice must submit by October 1 a privilege log of withheld documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. I am grateful and pleased by that. This Administration has been so intent on hiding the contents of these documents that it allowed Attorney General Holder to be held in contempt instead of just turning them over to Congress. The privilege log will bring us closer to finding out why the Justice Department hid behind false denials in the wake of reckless conduct that contributed to the violent deaths of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and countless Mexican citizens.”

Under the judge’s order, the Department of Justice must produce non-privileged documents and a detailed list of privileged documents withheld by October 1st. The Oversight Committee will then have an opportunity to lodge specific objections to withheld documents until October 17th.

Speaker of the House John Boehner confirmed the ruling on his Twitter account:

Operation Fast and Furious was an ATF operation in which guns purchased in the United States were allowed to be smuggled, illegally, into Mexico and into the hands of violent drug cartels.

One of the firearms that was smuggled in such a manner was used to kill United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. The firearms have also been linked to numerous murders and crimes in Mexico.

There is some speculation that the Department of Justice, possibly even Eric Holder himself, knew of the operation and let it continue even after it was clear that the ATF was losing track of these firearms.